9 Unintentionally Terrifying Children’s Books

In retrospect, many of our beloved children’s books were a little creepy. Well — maybe we’ve watched Psycho a little too recently, but a missing page from Love You Forever could easily reveal some Norman Bates-type sentiments, don’t you think? And what’s with all these cheery books about characters drowning in food? Last month, we brought you ten terrifying children’s books from around the world, and now we’ve gathered a selection of creepy stories that weren’t intended to be interpreted as such. Check ’em out after the jump, and hit the comments to suggest other popular kids’ books with unexpectedly eerie connotations.

Every book from David Shannon’s No, David! series is a scary book. Why? David, as an illustrated character, is a terrifying little dude. Those sharp teeth, those beady eyes — imagine this demon running around your house, breaking your stuff and killing your pets.